


Feel the Love on the Inside

by lizook12



Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-10
Updated: 2013-06-10
Packaged: 2017-12-14 13:57:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/837655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizook12/pseuds/lizook12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>But he was getting older and she was tired of seeing him wind himself tighter and tighter until the only stress relief involved a long flight across the country.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Feel the Love on the Inside

**Author's Note:**

> Much love to andibeth82 for the brainstorming help and alanna1231 for the feedback.

She’d known it wouldn’t be easy. Convincing Tony to do something went one of two ways: either he realized she knew much more than him on a matter and deferred to that knowledge or he dug his heels in and resisted. She wasn’t surprised (not even a tiny bit) that this turned out to be a case of the latter and not the former.  
    

Because when it came to staying in shape Tony was pretty strict. It was always on his terms and it was rarely something conventional, mixed martial arts or krav maga or whatever he’d seen in Thailand during their last trip. Hell, half the time he insisted that testing and coding his suits was rigorous enough.  
    

And fine, it had served him well so far.  
    

(Ok, “well” was underselling it by a long shot; the man looked great.  
    

Fit and trim and strong.  
    

Better than he had any right to given the shrapnel and the arc reactor and surgery.)  
    

But he was getting older and she was tired of seeing him wind himself tighter and tighter until the only stress relief involved a long flight across the country or hurried sex against the nearest wall.  
    

(Though that time at Griffin Observatory had been pretty fun.)  
    

He needed something low impact, something with less aggression and more conditioning, which was why she’d suggested yoga.  
    

It had taken a full three weeks to even get him to agree and then another two to find a time he thought suitable. Early evening ended up being best so here they were.  
   

Pulling her feet towards her body, she leans forward, breathes deeply. She stays that way for five breaths before sitting up, eyes narrowing as he struggles to find the correct leg placement.  
    

Finally, after a quick glance at her, he figures it out and she leans forward once more, demonstrating the pose as she inhales slowly. Gets lost in the relaxation and warmth washing over her.  
    

She’d expected to have to go slower than she’s used to, to have to show him step-by-step each pose, but it’s been maddening. Every other exercise he tries to edge onto her mat, insists on hands-on assistance even when it’s not necessary, and she can’t count the number of times he’s fallen over.  
    

Which is alright, really, because she’s absolutely schooling him. Forget that it’s his first time, even after she’s put him into position and showed him just what to do, he still gets distracted or can’t manage to bend just so while she moves with ease and precision.  
    

Sitting up out of the Butterfly Pose (and of course he’d had to comment on that; _why couldn’t it be the deadly moth pose or something?_ ), she pushes off the floor and stands.  
    

“That’s probably a good place to stop.”  
    

He nods and gets up, falling against the nearest wall. “I’ll make a note for next time.”  
     

“Next time?” She blinks, bites the inside of her cheek to keep herself from openly gaping.  
    

He misses the look, or, more likely, pretends not to notice, stepping closer. “We should work out together more often.”  
    

“I’d end up killing you.”  
    

“...not _too_ often though; I don’t need to work out that much.”  
    

“If you did you might not have just gotten your ass kicked like you did.”  
     

His brow furrows slightly and he tilts his head towards her. She’s grinning, reveling in the knowledge that this is one physical arena she absolutely has him beat in. They both know it and the smirk settling on her face, the light in her eyes sends a surge of heat coursing through him.  
    

Still, he can’t let it go that easily.  
    

“I didn’t realize yoga was a competitive sport.”  
    

“Of course. Didn’t you know about the World Yoga Jam? I placed first three years running.”  
    

“You would.”  
    

The sincerity catches her off-guard and she grins, tossing him a towel as she leans against the wall next to him. “I expect you to show up with a motivational poster next year.”  
   

“I’ll get Dummy to draw something up. It’ll probably involve glitter.”  
    

His shoulder presses to hers and she sighs, closes her eyes and lets the underlying emotion in his tone wrap around her.  
    

It’s not that he never tells her she’s great at her work, that she kicks ass and takes names, quite the opposite honestly, but there’s something about how he’s looking at her now. Praising her in the most teasing, Tony-esque way possible, that fills her with happiness.  
    

The fact that she’s obviously more suited for this type of workout than he is (not that she really expected anything different) doesn’t hurt either.  
    

“Can it say, ‘Pepper owns Tony’s ass’ on the bottom?” She laughs, pushing off the wall. “Because obviously. I mean, it could just be your age catching up to you, but...”  
    

“Hey, I haven’t seen one grey hair since that one you claim you found in the back of my head!”  
    

The way his voice drops, his jaw tensing slightly, tells her he’s more hurt by it than he lets on.  
  

Closing the tiny space between them, she presses her body to his, drapes her arms over his shoulders. “True, and you’re certainly still keeping up with me well enough.”  
    

“Damn right.”  
    

“Though we could work on increasing your flexibility...”  
    

“Oh...” He grins, arms closing around her as he kisses her soundly. “I’ll show you flexibility.”


End file.
